Club History

 

Many will remember it as the original home of Lamb Brothers fruit farm, the producers of the famous Fruitfield jams.  When the business ceased operations in the early 1980’s, the land was bought by a local businessman with the intentions of making it into a Golf and Country Club.

However, despite an intensive advertising campaign and the retention of the late Eddie Hackett (Enniscrone, Waterville, Old Head of Kinsale and Ballybunion) to design the course, the project ran into some financial difficulties.   By this stage some 60 members had subscribed to join and faced the loss of their investment.  Following a meeting of these members, a group of 20 invested £5,000 each to satisfy the bank and purchase the land.

At that point, the course had been shaped through the orchards that still abounded the land and play, of sorts, had commenced.  The Club affiliated to the GUI in 1985 and an intensive recruitment drive got underway.   It was the potential of the course that attracted new members and by 1990 the membership target was reached.

The Club began to enjoy a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers through the nineties  as its reputation spread.  It’s profile was raised even further on a competitive front when it won a number of pennants. Club member Martina Gillen became a professional golfer on the European Ladies Tour.

In 1999, with the Donabate area experiencing growth, and with tremendous foresight, the then committee saw the threat of housing bounding the Club’s property and engaged Peter McEvoy, the British Amateur Open Champion (1977 & 78) and victorious Walker Cup Captain (1999 & 2001), to remodel the lay-out.   Having previously created or remodelled the impressive Powerscourt, Fota Island, Glen of the Downs and Rathsallagh, to name just a few, it is a measure of the quality of the new lay-out that Beaverstown can proudly rank among these prestigious clubs.

Beaverstown Golf Club proudly celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2010.  To-day, Beaverstown is prominent in the list of top clubs, being regularly called upon to host GUI and ILGU competitions.  If visitor numbers is a barometer, then Beaverstown’s name will continue to be high on the list of “must play” courses.